Deflector for cable transport

ABSTRACT

A deflector for a cable transport system, wherein the cable is provided with a plurality of members each supporting a load, has a wheel rotatable about an upright axis and provided around its periphery with a plurality of angularly equispaced guides. Each such guide is carried on one end of a short arm pivoted itself on the periphery of the wheel so that the guides can be pushed to the side by the load-carrying members as they pass. The guides are small synthetic-resin sheaves which are rotatable about respective axes on their respective arms. The arms normally project radially inwardly of the wheel. In the case of a system wherein the arc of the deflection is flatter than the wheel curvature a cam is provided to array those guides in contact with the cable along the desired arc.

United States Patent [1 1 [111 3,804,373 Ross Apr. 16, 1974 4] DEFLECTORFOR CABLE TRANSPORT Primary Examiner--Allen N. Knowles Inventor: AlfredRoss, Thun, Switzerland Assignee: Willi Habegger, Thun, SwitzerlandFiled: May 14, 1973 Appl. No.: 360,182

Foreign Application Priority Data May 16, 1972 Germany 2223729 U.S. Cl.254/190 Int. Cl. B6611 l/36 Field of Search 254/190; 187/95; 74/229;198/159, 182; 226/196, 190

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 7/1907 Drake 254/190 Attorney,Agent, or Firm-Karl F. Ross; Herbert Dubno [5 7] ABSTRACT A deflectorfor a cable transport system, wherein the cable is provided with aplurality of members each supporting a load, has a wheel rotatable aboutan upright axis and provided around its periphery with a plurality ofang ularly equispaced guides. Each such A guide is carried on one end ofa short arm pivoted itself on the periphery of the wheel so that theguides can be pushed to the side by the load-carrying members as theypass. The guides are :small synthetic-resin sheaves which are rotatableabout respective axes on their respective arms. The arms normallyproject radially inwardly of the wheel. In the case of a system whereinthe arc of the deflection is flatter than the wheel curvature a cam isprovided to array those guides in contact with the cable along thedesired arc.

10 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAPR 16 I974 3.804- 373 1 DEFLECTORFOR CABLE TRANSPORT 1. Field of the Invention 2. Background of theInvention In a cable transport system it is often necessary to deflectthe cable or rope at one or more locations along its path, since rarelycan a straight conveyor path be employed. This deflection can be carriedout simply with a large sheave rotatable about an upright axis when theinside of the deflection curve is to the side of the cable opposite thatside from which the loadcarrying members or outriggers extend. When thecable must be deflected in the opposite direction, however, it isextremely difficult to hold it securely, since the load-supportingoutriggers will extend toward the axis of the deflecting wheel.

In one system a plurality of pairs of notched jaws are provided whichare opened by a cam as the cable comes between them and are then closedon this cable. In case an outrigger comes between these jaws they merelyclose on it. The jaws are opened again to permit the cable to leave thedeflecting wheel. Such an arrangement is quite complicated and liable tofail under heavy load. In additiomthe mechanism which opens and closesthe jaws must be protected from the elements, necessitating a closedhousing around each deflection tower.

3. Objects of the Invention 4. Summary of the Invention These objectsare attained according to the present invention in a system wherein thedeflector wheel is provided on its periphery with; a plurality ofangularly equispaced pivots each supporting one end of an arm whoseother end is provided with a cable-receiving guide. These arms normallyextend radially inwardly on the wheel and can be biased into thisposition. Between the outriggers the cable merely seats itself in theguides, and when an outrigger comes to the wheel it pivots one ormore ofthe arms to the side, allowing the cable immediately next to each sideof the outrigger to be supported by a guide. As the outrigger leaves thewheel it merely pulls from between the guides. No complicated openingand closing is necessary, and failure is virtually impossible. The armssimply pivot out of the way of the outrigger, but otherwise serve tosupport the cable and guide it through a curve with complete security.

According to another feature of this invention, each guide is a smallsynthetic-resin pulley or sheave rotatable on the other end of itsrespective arm about an axis parallel to the pivot axis for the one endof the arm,

which in turn is parallel to the rotation axis of the wheel on whoseperiphery the arms are carried.

In accordance with another feature of this invention each arm isprovided with a projection engaging over a formation on the wheel sothat the vertical and torsional forces applied to the arm are not alltaken up by the pivot. This projection can rest on an arcuate lip havinga center of curvature coinciding with the arms pivot axis.

When the cable is to be deflected through a curve having a flattercurvature greater than is practical to provide as the curvature of thedeflecting wheel, means is provided to displace the pivot axes of thearms so that in the region they engage the cablethey lie in an uprightwarped plane parallel to the curve that the cable is supposed to follow.This is accomplished by providing the pivot axes in eccentric bushingswhich are engaged by a relatively fixed cam so that these axis lie in aplane having the desired radius of curvature.

5. Description of the Drawing The above and other objects, features, andadvantages will become more readily apparent from the fol lowingdescription, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a top diagrammatic view of a system according to the presentinvention;

FIG. IA is a view of the portion cated by arrow IA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view, in enlarged scale, of that porof the systemindition of the system indicated by arrow II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section taken along line III-Ill of FIG/2;

6. Specific Description As shown in FIGS. 1 and 1A a cable transportsystem has a drive sheave 1 powered by a motor 21, an idler sheave 2 anda deflecting tower 3 :from which are suspended two wheels 4 and 4. Thelatter wheel is a simple circumferentially grooved sheave and the formeris described below. Both wheels 4 and 4' are hung on shafts 9 fromuniversal joints 22 and 22', respectively, which are spring loaded andallow limited rocking of these wheels. A cable 7 is spanned over thewheels 1, 2, 4 and 4' and is provided with a plurality of laterallyprojecting outriggers 8 each suspending a respective load 23, here atwo-man ski-lift chair. The wheel 4 is on the inside of the bend in thepath of the cable 7 and to that side of the cable 7 from which theoutriggers 8 project.

As shown in FIGS. 2-5 the wheel 4 is generally circular and rotatesabout an upright axis A. The periphery of this wheel 4 is provided withforty-eight angularly equispaced cable guides 6 in the form of smallhyperboloidal sheaves made of a polyam'ide such as Nylon. Each suchguide 6 is rotatable about an axis A" defined by a pivotbolt 12extending down from one end of a short arm whose other end is providedwith an upwardly extending pivot bolt 11 defining an axis A. The axes A,A and A" are parallel so that the arms 10 swing in planes orthogonal tothese axes. The bolt 11 is received in an elastic bushing in a hole 24in the wheels periphery 5. A cap 25 extending beyond the bushing 15 issecured by a nut 26 to prevent the bolt 11 from falling through. Thefriction between bolt 11 and the bushing 15 prevents displacement of thebolt unless a certain amount of torsional force is exerted on it, sothat this bolt does not rotate very freely. In addition, each arm 10 isformed with a short projecting tongue 13 which engages over a respectivearcuate lip 14 formed on the wheel 4 inside of its outer periphery. Eachlip has a center of curvature at the respective axis A and a constantradius of curvature so that the tongue 13 engages over it and supportsthe arm 10 so long as this arm is directed generally inwardly. The cable7 is received in the peripheral groove of the sheave 6 and exerts, asshown in FIG. 5, an inward component P, of force resulting from thedeflection, and a downward component P resulting from the weight of thecable and its load. This latter component P is taken up almostcompletely by the lip 13 resting on the ledge 14 so that the bushing 15is not unduly stressed. In addition, the edge of the lip or projection13 may engage surface 27 of the wheel 4 to transmit to it the componentP, of force should the bushing 15 be sufficiently deformed.

A spring as shown schematically in FIGS. 3 and 4 at 28 is provided ateach arm 10 to urge this arm into a position normally extending radiallyinwardly from the axis A.

FIG. 2 shows how as the cable 7 is displaced in the direction indicatedby arrows D an outrigger comes into contact with a guide 6 and pushes itaxially to the side. This allows the cable to seat itself securely onthe guides 6 to either side of the outrigger 8 for most even applicationof force on the tower 3. As the outrigger leaves the arc of contact ofthe cable 7 with the wheel 4, it merelypulls out from between theguides, which then are returned to their radial positions by the springs28. A cam 16 which is fixed on the shaft 9 and is not rotatable with thewheel 4 insures that these guides 6 are in this radial position as theycome against the cable 7.

Such an arrangement is extremely simple. It provides very securesupportfor the cable in spite of the outriggers. The arms are moved neatly tothe side by the outrigger itself and in this displaced position serve tosupport the cable. No complicated mechanism is needed to fit the guidesto the cable around the outrigger, nor to disengage them to allow theoutrigger to withdraw.

FIG. 6 shows an arrangement wherein the same reference numerals as usedin FIGS. 1-5 are employed where structure is identical. Here, however, aplurality towers 3 are employed to deflect the cables 7 through bendshaving radii 17 of curvature which are much greater than the radii 18 ofthe respective deflecting wheels 4' shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

In order to array the guides along the are 2, each pin 11 is pivoted inan eccentric hole 29 in a bushing 19 which is rotatable within anenlarged hole 24' in the periphery 5 of the wheel 4. Each such bolt 11carries a metal collar which in the region of contact of the guides 6with the cable 7 is engageable with a nonrotatable guide cam 21 whoseedge has the same radius of curvature as the radius 17. In this mannerthe pins 11 are pulled toward the axis A so that the collars 20, whichare advantageously rotatable on the pins by means of bearings, ridealong the edge of the cam 21. Since the distance between axes A and A"is constant, this means that the guides 6 will lie along an arc havingthe radius of curvature 17, causing the cable to bear with the samecomponent P, on all of the guides 6 rather than loading one more thanothers as would be the case if these guides lay along a path having aradius of curvature smaller than radius 17. It is also possible toprovide the pins 11 in small slidable elements, rather than eccentricrotatable bushings 19, for their positioning.

I claim:

1. A deflector for a cable transport system wherein a transport cable isprovided with spaced-apart laterally projecting outriggers suspendingrespective loads, said deflector comprising:

a support defining an upright axis;

a wheel having a periphery and mounted on said support for rotationabout said axis;

a plurality of pivots spaced around said periphery and each having arespective upright pivot axis offset from the wheel axis; I

respective arms each having one end secured to a respective pivot andanother end spaced from said respective pivot, said arms being swingableabout said pivots; and

respective cable guides each carried on said other end of a respectivearm, said cable being engageable with said guides.

2. The deflector defined in claim 1 wherein said guides are sheavesrotatable on their respective arms about axes parallel to said pivotaxes.

3. The deflector defined in claim 2 wherein said arms are underneathsaid wheel and are each provided with an upwardly extending pivot pinjournaled in said wheel at the respective pivot axis and a downwardlyextending pivot pin rotatably carrying the respective sheave.

4. The deflector defined in claim 3 wherein each arm is provided with aprojection and said wheel is formed with respective outwardly directedrecesses receiving said projections.

5. The deflector defined in claim 4 wherein each recess is circularlyarcuate and has a center of curvature at the respective pivot axis, eachprojection overlying the respective recess.

6. The deflector defined in claim 3, further comprising means fordisplacing said pivot axes on said wheel along a portion'of theperiphery thereof to lie along an are having a center of curvatureoffset from the wheel axis.

7. The deflector defined in claim 6 wherein said means for displacingincludes a cam nonrotatable relative to said wheel and extending alongsaid portion of said periphery, said cam being operatively engageablewith said upwardly extending pivot pins of said arms.

8. The deflector defined in claim 7 wherein said means for displacingfurther comprises respective bushings rotatable in said wheel and havingan offset hole rotatably receiving a respective upwardly extending pinof a respective arm, whereby rotation of said bushings displaces therespective pivot axes relative to said upright axis.

9. The deflector defined in claim 8 wherein each uping means forarraying said arms normally into a posiwardly directed pivot pin isprovided with a guide collar tion extending radially inwardly from theirrespective engageable with said cam. V pivot axes.

10. The deflector defined in claim 1, further compris-

1. A deflector for a cable transport system wherein a transport cable isprovided with spaced-apart laterally projecting oUtriggers suspendingrespective loads, said deflector comprising: a support defining anupright axis; a wheel having a periphery and mounted on said support forrotation about said axis; a plurality of pivots spaced around saidperiphery and each having a respective upright pivot axis offset fromthe wheel axis; respective arms each having one end secured to arespective pivot and another end spaced from said respective pivot, saidarms being swingable about said pivots; and respective cable guides eachcarried on said other end of a respective arm, said cable beingengageable with said guides.
 2. The deflector defined in claim 1 whereinsaid guides are sheaves rotatable on their respective arms about axesparallel to said pivot axes.
 3. The deflector defined in claim 2 whereinsaid arms are underneath said wheel and are each provided with anupwardly extending pivot pin journaled in said wheel at the respectivepivot axis and a downwardly extending pivot pin rotatably carrying therespective sheave.
 4. The deflector defined in claim 3 wherein each armis provided with a projection and said wheel is formed with respectiveoutwardly directed recesses receiving said projections.
 5. The deflectordefined in claim 4 wherein each recess is circularly arcuate and has acenter of curvature at the respective pivot axis, each projectionoverlying the respective recess.
 6. The deflector defined in claim 3,further comprising means for displacing said pivot axes on said wheelalong a portion of the periphery thereof to lie along an arc having acenter of curvature offset from the wheel axis.
 7. The deflector definedin claim 6 wherein said means for displacing includes a cam nonrotatablerelative to said wheel and extending along said portion of saidperiphery, said cam being operatively engageable with said upwardlyextending pivot pins of said arms.
 8. The deflector defined in claim 7wherein said means for displacing further comprises respective bushingsrotatable in said wheel and having an offset hole rotatably receiving arespective upwardly extending pin of a respective arm, whereby rotationof said bushings displaces the respective pivot axes relative to saidupright axis.
 9. The deflector defined in claim 8 wherein each upwardlydirected pivot pin is provided with a guide collar engageable with saidcam.
 10. The deflector defined in claim 1, further comprising means forarraying said arms normally into a position extending radially inwardlyfrom their respective pivot axes.